Something Worth Fighting For
by Number54
Summary: Maki rushes to the Hospital Wing to find that Nico is injured from a fight with a fellow Slytherin. At first, Maki is beyond angry, but that all changes when Nico reveals the reason why she did it. NicoMaki fluff. Hogwarts AU. Threw in some NozoEli here, too.


**A/N: Hi, guys!**

 **This was an Anon request on Tumblr that I just got around to finish because of all the working and Pokemon Go playing I've been doing. They requested more gayer NicoMaki, and I did my best to give them what they asked for! Here you go, Anon! This is for you!**

 **Edit: Version en** **español (Gracias zaRekPG!) Vayas a verlo!**

 **\- 54**

* * *

The hasty _click clack_ of Maki's slippers echoed behind her as she all but sprinted in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

The redheaded Ravenclaw had been at the Owlery that evening with the intention of sending a letter to her mama and papa back home telling of how her studies were going and how she was doing in general when a very frantic Honoka bursted through the door of the Owlery, frightening all of the owls in the process.

As the Gryffindor proceeded to inform her of the latest turn of events all the while struggling for oxygen, Maki could only make out a few words:

 _Nico._

 _Fight._

 _Injured._

 _Hospital Wing._

And those words had been all she needed to hear before she took off running, pushing open the Owlery door with enough force for it to fly back against the wall with a loud _clap._ Maki didn't know if Honoka had chosen to follow or stay behind to catch her breath, but she didn't care either way. She just wanted to see Nico.

After sprinting across the grounds, racing through the courtyard, and bounding up several flights of stairs, she finally slowed down to a jog as she came across the entrance to the Hospital Wing and went inside.

Nozomi, Eli, and Rin were crowded around the bed at the far end of the room, and from the sounds of the obnoxious complaining and the occasional swear word here and there, there was no doubt in the redhead's mind that Nico was the one occupying it.

"Fifty points from Slytherin? As far as I'm concerned they can take all fifty of those fucking points and shove them up their asses!"

"Miss Yazawa, watch your language!" Madam Pomfrey chided as she passed by Nico's bed with a tray of various colored vials, presumably to tend to the person a few beds away from Nico.

The seventh year Slytherin scoffed. "Whatever."

"Calm down," Nozomi shushed softly, running a hand through Nico's long, jet black hair comfortingly. "I sent Honoka to fetch Maki, so she'll be here soon."

"I'm right here. What the _hell_ happened?" Maki demanded as she neared Nico's bed. The four girls turned their attention to the out of character, fifth year Ravenclaw, who never threw around swear words unless she was either angered or irritated, and judging by the somewhat sinister aura her figure was emitting, she was most likely both.

Eli quickly reached out to place a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Now, before you go flying off the handle, just remember it won't help anything. It'll only make things worse."

Being the type of person to not let anger cloud her judgement, Maki listened to the blonde's words and took the time to calm herself down by breathing in and out slowly. She couldn't risk looking at the older girl on the bed right now, because if she were to look and see any sort of cut, scratch, bruise, or even a tiny speck of blood on Nico, she'd go bolistic.

"Alright," She started more calmly, glancing at both Nozomi and Rin before looking back at Eli. "What happened?"

The blonde Gryffindor rubbed the back of her neck and looked back at Nozomi, as if she were silently asking the Slytherin prefect for a way to explain this to Maki without the fiery redhead reacting angrily and creating a scene in the hospital. Nozomi, in turn, looked at Rin, to which the orange-haired girl shook her head quickly. The dark haired Slytherin lying in the hospital bed witnessed the apprehension of all three girls and rolled her eyes with a huff.

"Stop trying to look for a way to sugarcoat this, guys," The bed creaked as Nico raised herself so that she was sitting on the bed with her back against the pillow. "Didn't Honoka tell you, Maki? I got in a fight."

Maki made a small noise under her breath out of surprise at the revelation. The shock gave her enough courage to finally look her girlfriend in the face. Nico's hair had been completely let down with the ribbons laying haphazardly upon the little table next to the bed. Her hair was dirty and gritty, and it looked as if whoever she tousled with had taken her down to the ground at least once. There were small splotches of dirt on her left cheekbone, on her forehead, and on the right side of her chin. Lastly, she'd had a wet cloth placed over her nose, removing it every few seconds to glance down at it before placing it back. Maki could make out some dark spots embedded into the cloth, which could only mean one thing:

Nico was _bleeding_.

The Ravenclaw's jaw tightened at the sight. She quickly bit her tongue to keep her anger in check and to prevent the barrage of questions flooding through her mind from spilling out of her mouth all at once. "With who?" She said lowly.

Nico looked off to the side, cloth still clamped over her nose. "Another Slytherin."

"Why?" Maki sighed, crossing her arms against her chest.

Rin, who had been leaning on Nico's bed with her hands, abruptly pushed away and turned to silently walk out of the hospital. Maki could only look on as the orange-haired Gryffindor left the room without a word. Honoka poked her head through the door just as Rin exited, looking at the four remaining girls with a sympathetic expression.

Eli motioned her head to the side and mouthed a silent _'Go.'_ to the ginger-haired girl, who didn't need to be told twice and headed in the direction Rin had left in to provide comfort to her fellow Gryffindor.

Nico sighed afterwards. "A group of them saw Nozomi and me with Eli, Rin, and Honoka out in the courtyard. Things got ugly really quick, and the next thing we knew, one of them called Rin a mudblood."

Nozomi and Eli both noticeably flinched at the derogatory term. Maki was fully aware of what the word meant, and her parents had taught her not to say something so ugly. She'd never heard anyone use the word out loud, and she hoped she never would.

Nico withdrew the bloody cloth from her nose and checked it again. "Looks like I'm going to need another one. Maki? Could you...?"

"E-eh?!" The Ravenclaw stammered, her face slowly becoming as red as the primary color of Eli's Gryffindor tie.

"My nose has stopped bleeding, but I need to get cleaned up, you know? Could you possibly get me a clean cloth and some more warm water? Pretty please?"

"Why don't you just get Madam Pomfrey to do it?" Maki began twirling a strand of her red hair.

"Because I want _you_ to take care of me."

Maki immediately ceased twirling her hair and met Nico's crimson eyes. The silence between the two was enough to spur Nozomi into action as the Slytherin quickly grabbed onto the bend of Eli's arm with both hands. "Elicchi!~"

"Huh? What's wrong, Nozomi?" And of course, Eli was completely oblivious to what was going on.

"Don't you need to be getting down to the Quidditch pitch for practice?" Nozomi asked, nudging the blonde slightly and giving her one of those looks that silently told the blonde she was trying to convey something.

Eli's eyes widened in realization, and she had to refrain from looking back at the two girls. "Well, Hufflepuff is down there right now, so we won't hold ours until after they're done. However, we _do_ need to go see about Rin. Maybe Honoka has cheered her up a little?"

"Maybe so, but it wouldn't hurt to go check," The purple-haired Slytherin caressed the Gryffindor's right cheek lovingly. "Elicchi and I will come back to see you before we begin our nightly rounds, Nicocchi. Try not to have too much fun, huh?" She winked at the raven-haired girl before grabbing Eli's hand and beginning to walk out of the hospital.

"I'll do my best." Sarcasm dripped from Nico's tone as she rolled her eyes. Then she noticed that Maki hadn't moved from the spot she'd been rooted down to since she'd arrived. "Well, are you going to just stand there? I'd like to get cleaned sometime today."

Maki huffed, removing a hair tie from her wrist and tying her hair back into a side ponytail. "You're incorrigible."

Nico smirked. "Thought you'd be used to it by now, princess."

The fifth year ignored the snarky comment and went to work, plucking the bloody cloth from Nico's hand and dropping it into the bowl of murky water. She picked up the bowl, careful not to spill any of the contents on the floor, and carried it over to a sink on the other side of the room. She quickly poured the dirty water out, setting the bowl under the tap to run some fresh, warm water into it. The bloody cloth was disposed of in the wastebasket next to the sink. Normally, students weren't supposed to mess with anything unless they were given permission, but since Maki volunteered here in the Hospital Wing during her free time, she was allowed to mess with any of Madam Pomfrey's supplies. Madam Pomfrey trusted her, after all.

She quickly shut the tap off and carried the bowl of fresh water back to Nico's bedside table. The seventh year Slytherin had moved around to where she was laying on her back with her eyes closed. And judging by the little grin still present on her face, Maki knew the raven-haired girl hadn't fallen asleep.

"Why didn't you just cast _Aguamenti_? Would've made things a whole lot easier on you." She teased.

"Because I haven't been taught that spell yet. I won't learn it until my sixth year." Maki bent down to rummage through the cabinet under the bedside table.

"Flitwick taught it to us during my sixth year, but I don't remember the wand movement. I'm actually surprised that I remember the name of the spell becau-"

"Because you never pay attention during Charms," The Ravenclaw interrupted as she closed the cabinet doors and stood up with a clean, white cloth. "I know, Nico."

"Hey, I pay attention sometimes!" Nico defended.

"I'm sure you do." Maki placed the cloth in the bowl to let it soak for a bit. She quickly took this time to look over the Slytherin's torso and lower body to see if she could spot anything Madam Pomfrey may have overlooked. Her uniform was a little scruffed up from the fight - patches of dirt here and there on the white button-up and a small tear in her vest which could be easily patched up with a little sewing. Her skirt and knee socks were also a little grimey, but there were no signs of scratches or bruising on her knees. All in all, it looked like her torso and lower body were unharmed.

Maki took a seat on the side of Nico's bed and wrung the excess water out of the cloth before bunching it up and dabbing gently at the remnants of dried blood on and under Nico's slightly swelled nose.

"Your nose is broken." She whispered softly.

The Slytherin chuckled weakly. "Don't think I didn't even up the score." She brought a hand up to pull her green and silver tie completely off and pulled at the wrinkled flap of her collar, showcasing a small trail of droplets of blood.

Maki paused her movements as she caught a glimpse of what she assumed was the blood of the other Slytherin. She stared blankly, trying her best to keep a stoic expression, but the more and more she tried, the harder it got. The anger she had tried to keep in check ever since she got here was a hair away from boiling over at this very moment. How could Nico be proud of this? Displaying someone else's blood like it was some sort of morbid trophy. And to top it all off, she was hurt and she didn't even care!

"Are you happy with yourself?" Maki said lowly, feeling herself begin to tremble slightly.

Nico's triumphant grin slowly started to disappear. "What do you mean, Maki?"

"What do I mean?!" Maki raised her voice, the tremors in her body finding their way to her larynx. "Here you are, lying in a hospital bed with a broken nose, and the only thing you care about is that you "evened up the score"? Hurting another person, especially someone in your own house, solves absolutely nothing! And putting yourself in harm's way doesn't solve a _damn_ thing, either! You didn't have to fight her, Nico! You didn't have to fight anyone!"

Maki's shoulders quaked as she sobbed loudly. She didn't even know when she had started crying - possibly halfway through her outburst but that didn't matter right now. The next thing she felt was the warmth of Nico's neck on her face as the shorter girl sat up in the bed and pulled her close, rubbing her back lovingly.

As Maki's sobs slowly dwindled down to quiet whimpers, Nico swallowed hard at what she was about to say to the younger girl. "I didn't want to do it, you know?"

The redhead raised her head up to look into the seventh year's crimson eyes. "You didn't?" Maki asked, wiping at her runny nose with her hand.

Nico pulled her sleeve up over her hand to wipe at the remaining tears of Maki's red, puffy eyes. "No."

"Then why did you do it?"

The Slytherin swallowed hard again, looking off to the side in thought. Maki didn't know if it was her post-crying eyes playing tricks on her, but she could've swore she saw water in the corners of Nico's eyes.

"Because they were hurting Rin."

Maki's mouth opened slightly, but she couldn't find any words to say, so she silently waited for Nico to continue.

The seventh year sighed. "There's nothing wrong with being a Muggle-born, Maki, but there are some people out there who don't see it that way. That's why Rin is so self-conscious about her home life."

"I know." Maki said softly with a nod.

"I don't know what it is about Slytherin, but it just seems that my house is the only house that has some kind of disdain for any Muggle-born or any Gryffindor. I mean they say it's not as bad as it used to be, but there are still some Slytherins who still hold that belief. And I know for a fact that they talk about Nozomi and me behind our backs just because we associate with Gryffindors, but they won't dare say a thing about it to Nozomi's face because she's a prefect."

The Ravenclaw watched as tears began to trickle down Nico's face.

"I honestly don't give a damn if someone talks about me, but if someone says _anything_ about or to my friends, I'm going to fight. Consequences be damned."

"Nico..." Maki whispered, hugging the raven-haired girl tightly. "I didn't know you felt so strongly about us like that."

Nico returned the fifth year's hug equally as tight. "I've always fought for the people I love, and I'll fight even harder for you."

"I don't want you fighting anyone for me," Maki spoke softly. "Not when you could get hurt."

"You just mean so much to me, Maki. More than anything in this world. I love you so much." The Slytherin's shoulders began to tremble. Nico's dam had finally broken, and the tears were flowing heavily now.

The redhead shushed her secret girlfriend, rubbing her back lovingly like she had done for her earlier. "I love you, too."

Nico held onto the Ravenclaw tightly until her loud sobbing grew into low whines. It had been such a long time since the two of them cried in front of each other, and it wasn't in a broom closet on the third floor for once. Not that anyone would notice the two of them, anyway. The student Madam Pomfrey was tending to had checked out about fifteen minutes ago, and Madam Pomfrey herself had stepped out of the room.

"Now, let's finish getting you cleaned up." Maki grinned swatting Nico on the shoulder playfully. She took the now-dried up cloth that she had set down on the side of the bed earlier and dipped it back into the bowl of water.

"Wait." Nico grabbed Maki's arm, preventing the redhead from wringing out the cloth.

"What?"

"Kiss me."

Maki looked at the Slytherin with wide eyes before glancing back to the door. "What? No! Madam Pomfrey might catch us!"

"Please?" Nico asked. "I haven't been able to see you since you started cramming for your O.W.L's last week!"

Maki closed her eyes with a huff. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't deny the fact that she'd missed Nico, too. "Alright, fine! But just a quick one! Nothing more!"

Nico's face immediately lit up as she silently cheered in her head. "Just don't hurt my nose."

"Of course not." Maki stated in a bored tone, and pressed her lips against Nico's.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope I did you justice, Anon! If any of you have a request you would like to send me, the link to my Tumblr is on my profile! Thanks for reading and I'd really appreciate it if you favorite and review!**

 **\- 54**


End file.
